Jason Gardiner has revealed that he is kept away from Karen Barber, backstage at Dancing On Ice.

The Australian star controversially clashed with the ice skating coach on the 2011 series of the ITV show, and the pair have never been so much as civil to one another since.

After she was demoted from judge to head coach, they clashed over contestant Johnson Beharry and on a live show, in front of millions of viewers, the caustic tongued star told Karen that if her opinion still mattered, she’d be on the panel.

The last laugh seemed to be on her, after Jason got sacked and she rejoined the panel in 2012, but this year he made a come back as bosses tried to boost ratings for the new series.

Speaking to The Mirror, Gardiner revealed that things will probably never be right between them and insisted:

“I imagine when she heard I was coming back she was like a dog with a wasp. It must have hurt. When I left it would have been a victory for her, but coming back gave me the upper hand.”

“I thought after a year out things would have cooled between us, but they haven’t. Karen and I go there and do our job but that’s it.”

He continued:

“We’re never going to be friends. She’s made that quite clear. We don’t talk off camera at all. We are kept apart. We are in different parts of the building and I think that’s a stipulation she has made. I’m not that bothered any more. DOI is just a piece of my life, not the whole thing like it is with her.”

Last night the pair clashed again, this time over the skating of current contestant, Matt Lapinskas.

Gardiner didn’t think his routine was different or entertaining enough and told The Eastenders star:

“The thing is, it’s as to be expected. I’ve seen this every week from you I’m not seeing you change anything up. I don’t see you out of your comfort zone. When are you going to do something different.”

Karen rolled her eyes as her co-star spoke and afterwards blasted:

“To criticise choreography is aimed at the wrong person, because you are given choreography. It was a nice performance, that was fantastic. You get what you’re given and you performed it brilliantly!”

Are you Team Jason or Team Karen and do you think their rivalry adds to the drama of Dancing On Ice? Leave your comments below…